The Funk Experimentalists: When Music Becomes Fun

Blue Tooth is the new buzzword in music circles. The group of four experimental musicians who got together last year have been slowly registering their musical prowess and within a very short period of time, have emerged as a frontrunners in the regional circuit. The band is made up of Rishav Bhuyan on the bass, Rituparna Choudhury on guitars, Biraj Baishya on drums and Sameer Baishnab on vocals.

Experimental Funk rock is how the members like to describe their music. “While many would regard us to be a funk band, we are more of funk experimentalists. Besides just funk, we have a lot of other influences like Spin Doctors, John Mayer, Vitor Wooten, The Meters, part of which we try and combine with funk.

The group has participated in a number of competitions and performances since they got together. Mention can be made of their stellar performances in the Great Guwahati Run on January 1 this year which encouraged the people of the city to run for a cause. The Run, which was organized by Ankur Bora and supported by Assam Foundation of North America (AFNA) and the Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS), sought to spread awareness about helping underprivileged children and marginalized sections of society.

Bluetooth had earlier won the Pyrokinesis rock competition, runners-up in Synchisis. Individually too, the members have registered their mark as Rituparna Choudhury and Biraj Baishya picked up the best Guitarist and Drummers award in Pyrokinesis, while Rishav Bhuyan and Sameer Baishnab won the Best Bassist and Best vocalist award in Synchisis. It should be noted that the Best Bassist Award in Synchisis was dedicated to the memory of late Rakesh Baruah and the jury for the award constituted veteran musicians like Satyakee D’Com Bhuyan and Suman Dutta.

But local competitions aside, the members of Blue Tooth have their eyes set on higher plans. “We will go a little more mainstream in a while. Bandwise, we want to build our credibility by experimenting with our sound and performing in more venues. Musically, we are constantly experimenting with new stuff; at times it sounds good, at times not.”